Altruism is not a luxury, it is a necessity for the survival of humanity.

Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation.

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

Compassion is the radicalism of our time.

Kindness is the solution to all of life's problems.

The ocean does not reject any water; therefore it is great. The mountain does not select its stones; therefore it is great.

Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.

Every moment of confusion is also a moment of wisdom, if we can learn to recognize it.

Just as parents care for their children, you should bear in mind the whole universe.

Buddhist practice is not to eliminate life's problems but to grow with them patiently and with compassion.

Personal experience is everything in Zen. No ideas are intelligible to those who have no backing of experience.

To what shall I compare this life? It is like a boat that left at dawn, leaving no trace.

True freedom is not the absence of commitment but the presence of choice.

The practice of Zen is forgetting the self in the act of uniting with something.

Knowledge must be stabilized by meditation. Without meditation, knowledge is like a child in battle.

The master's introduction is direct recognition of one's own nature. Meditation is maintaining the continuity of this recognition.

To see directly is to be free of hope and fear. Hope and fear are like a cloud before the sun.

Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look.

The most important things in our practice are our physical posture and our way of breathing.

Sankharas are the seeds of consciousness that manifest as sensations. By observing sensations equanimously, we stop creating new sankharas.

There is no difference at all between samsara and nirvana. There is no difference at all between nirvana and samsara.

To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things.

External phenomena are like a dream, whatever appears is not real. Recognize the nature of dream-like phenomena to be dream-like.

The mind of the past is ungraspable; the mind of the future is ungraspable; the mind of the present is ungraspable.

Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

The teaching is simple: act with kindness and compassion. If you cannot do this, at least try not to harm others.

The five aggregates are not a theoretical model but a description of lived experience to be investigated through mindfulness.

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

Whatever precious jewel there is in the heavenly worlds, there is nothing comparable to one who is awakened.

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals.

Concentration and insight are like two wings of a bird: both are necessary for the flight to liberation.

Buddhas and ordinary beings are not two. Enlightenment and delusion are not different paths.

True happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through cultivation of altruism, of love, of compassion.